


Broken Wings, Dented Steel

by Flutterbat



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Confusion, F/M, Falling In Love, Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest Spoilers, Going on an Adventure, Grief/Mourning, Invisible Kingdom | Valla, Mystery solving, Nohr | Conquest Route, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-01-07 15:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12235416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flutterbat/pseuds/Flutterbat
Summary: The war is over and a reluctant queen sits on the throne of a devastated Hoshido. In Nohr, a man who was born to be king searches for answers to a question that still haunts him, as he tries to rebuild a nation that was supposedly victorious.Together, can they find the resolutions that are so desperately needed?





	1. Arrival

The first day in May had always traditionally a day of celebration in Shirasagi, but not any more. It was supposed to have been Ryoma’s birthday, but he was dead so it was technically just another day but it hadn’t made it any easier for Hinoka. For the first time, instead of an ornate tea ceremony and sweets with her siblings she was listening to feudal lords bicker and whine about how in-appropriate it was for her to let the Nohrian delegation through the gate of the castle.

Maybe it was wholly inappropriate, maybe it wasn’t, but was there ever going to be an appropriate time? Hoshido had lost the war, completely and utterly, and Hinoka felt she had little choice to to let them through. Especially when the retinue included the King of Nohr himself. She couldn’t risk being seen to give such a grievous insult.

The bickering got too much, and she forgot her training and courtesy. Yelling at them all to _just shut up_ , she left the hall quickly, almost fleeing. Her feet carried her as fast as she could to one of the most isolated parts of the castle grounds. A quiet place, a small grove, where the only noise was the occasional crickets chirping. Here, there were two smooth, white stone obelisks surrounded by cherry blossoms and lotus flowers and they marked the final resting place of her brothers.

Sometimes when she was alone and had nothing else but her thoughts, Hinoka would come here. She’d sit by the stones and liked to imagine her brothers were climbing in the trees as they had done when they were small and she’d talk to them. She told them what had been happening, giving Ryoma a report how the country was recovering, and lamented to Takumi how stupid the local shoguns were. She would get carried away and just when she thought she had heard them both chuckle she’d stop and there would be nothing but the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. It was a painful silence.

She moved by the stones and placed her hand on the one that remembered her older brother and she sighed. She would have to go back to court eventually and she couldn’t hide here, no matter how much she wanted to. She’d have to go back and plead forgiveness from the feudal lords, a thought that made her feel nauseous. Telling them to shut up was probably the best course of action in her mind, but it was not the proper one. What would Ryoma suggest she should have done?

Apologised in an overly flower manner. Smile. Give them what they want, but later, nothing could stop her pretending the training dummies in the sparring hall were the lords and she could beat the stuffing out of them. It seemed like the best course of action and for a moment Hinoka felt pleased until she remembered that Ryoma would not be there to help her with the training dummies. Her face screwed up in frustration and she swallowed hard.

What was she going to say? She ran the words over in her head: “Forgive me my lords, but my feminine heart does grieve so for my honourable brother, the High Prince. Today is particularly raw, for it would be his birthday and my emotions run high”.

Her hand moved over the smooth, white marker. It was cool to the touch. She felt some heat in her cheeks so she knelt, and pressed her forehead against it in. This was a close as she could get to them now. She hadn’t wanted to weep today, but she couldn’t help it as a single tear escaped her eye, sliding down her face.

“Queen Hinoka…?”

A shadow appeared at the entrance to the grove, and she was forced to compose herself. It was King Marxander himself, The Dragon of West, Lord of The Black Night, He Who Wields The Holy Blade Siegfried, Shield of Nohr and Protector of the Falling Dusk. She was sure the announcer had given him another title when he arrived but she could not recall it. How had he got here?

With her back still to him, she wiped her eye and took a deep breath. Taking another look at the the stone, she read the haiku they had carved on it. They had found the poem in Ryoma’s private papers when they had cleaned out his study. It had been Sakura’s suggestion to have it engraved on the monument as it had seemed oddly fitting.

_We are all broken_  
_Shattered glass and dented steel_  
_So why not forgive?_

Hinoka fingers lingered on the stone a little longer, and then she wiped her eye she turned around and held her head high.

“This place is sacred. Why are you here?” She hoped she sounded as commanding as she had meant to.

“Forgive me, Queen Hinoka. But I felt your Lords were improper in their conduct. It is my understanding that today must be difficult for you.” He had paused, almost unsure of what to say. “… after you left, I dismissed them and came to seek you out. I… wanted to make sure you were well before I left.”

Hinoka couldn’t help but snort. He was still at the entrance of the garden, he had not come closer. She wanted to yell at him too. Was he completely stupid? His kingdom has destroyed her country and her brothers were dead and she had a crown that she had no right to wear and how could she possibly ‘be well’? Takumi had often said Nohrians were dumb. She wished he were here to tell him that he was right.

She must have been silent for to long because he then dipped his head in a small bow and said “I will leave you in peace.”

Hinoka blinked at him, turning over the words he had just said. He was oddly considerate for a man of his reputation, but yet something he had said pulled on her thoughts. “You’re leaving? Do you mean the garden or Shirasagi?” Surely he didn’t mean Shirasagi, they had just arrived. He hadn’t moved from his spot at the garden entrance so Hinoka moved towards him slowly. “I don’t think I understand King Xander. Why did you come here just to turn straight back around? We haven't even had that private meeting you said you wanted when you got here.” She now stood opposite him, the closest she thinks she has ever been to him outside of a battlefield.

Xander looks at her for feels like an age, before he speaks. “Queen Hinoka… I have uncovered some information that I feel you should be privy too. And I feel it is too important and sensitive to be communicated by letter. Although… you should have said this would not be a suitable time for me to come. We have forged an alliance now, and are no longer enemies. I would have understood. I do not mean to cause you distress by being here, so I can go until you feel ready to receive my party.”

Hinoka felt her cheeks go red and she suddenly felt embarrassed. “Please, you don’t have to go. You came all this way, so what you have to say must be important.” Her voice went quiet. “I would be lying if I said today wasn’t difficult, but in reality, all days are.” She looked back at the grave markers and continued. “Today is Ryoma’s birthday. Or, it would have been. It’s the first one since he…” She stopped again and swallowed. It would not do to break down in front of him. She caught him looking at her, he looked like he wanted to move but he didn’t. She shook her head and continued, “My duty is to Hoshido, and my people’s continuing recovery. I can not afford to dwell the past, no matter how much I want to indulge myself. Please, if there is danger or... something coming, I need to know.”

“Very well,” said Xander, nodding at her. “Although what I have to say will not be easy to hear.”

“Please, go on”

“Queen Hinoka, the war took its toll on all of us. I realise that may sound rich coming from me and Nohr was considered the victor in our conflict, but we were not without our losses. Something I learned in the final hours of the war has troubled me greatly and one of the first things I have done since ascending the throne is to investigate what happened.”

Hinoka looked at him, confused.

“For a long time, I was in the denial about my father. What he was and what he had become. And since it was pointed out to me, I wondered how I could have been blind for so long. I lost many siblings because of what had taken him, and your peaceful kingdom was devastated through this monster’s greed. I keep thinking, if I had acted sooner, perhaps everyone we loved would still be here.”

She thought she saw him swallow. “When we came to the throne room and found my father sat upon the Throne of Truth, he was… not himself any more. He was a monster, in every sense of the word - truly, an abomination the likes of which we had never seen before. My brother and I believe something had killed and possessed him, and then used his corpse as a puppet and orchestrated our conflict. Because of this creatures machinations… countless Nohrians and Hoshidans suffered. Prince Ryoma was manipulated into a situation he had no escape from and Prince Takumi was forced off the wall at Suzanoh and used as a puppet in a similar way to my father.”

Hinoka felt the pit of her stomach sink. “You aren’t making any sense, King Xander. That’s quite a story you are telling me,” she said barely above a whisper. “I don’t understand. And what do you mean about Takumi?” Her cheeks were getting hot again.

“Queen Hinoka. I know this is difficult, but please believe me - I know there is a great evil out there that forced our hands and caused great tragedy upon our nations. My mages have discovered some… irregularities around the Bottomless Canyon and it is my intention to investigate and seek it out.”

At that point, he reached forward, and encased Hinoka’s hands in his own and she gasped at the contact but did not pull away.

“Justice… has always been a difficult concept for me. For a long time, I did not believe it of its existence, but if there is one thing this war has taught me, the world is what we make it. I am going to find this evil that claimed my father and I am going to destroy it. I will find justice for my dead siblings and dead countrymen. And I will find justice for your brothers too for they did not deserve the fate that befell them.”

He sounded so regal and fierce. Nohr by all accounts was a difficult country to live in, where only the strongest survived and she understood in that moment why his men followed him without question. He squeezed her hands. “I need your support in this endeavour, Queen Hinoka. May I count on it?”

Hinoka couldn’t speak, her head was swimming . She looked back at the final resting places of her brothers and then looked Xander straight in the eye. And then she nodded.


	2. Lucky Number Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's that difficult second chapter :S

Prior to her unexpected meeting in the garden with the King of Nohr, Hinoka had encountered him five times before.

The first time she had seen him up close was on the Plains of Hoshido. For two glorious weeks, Corrin had returned to them but the dream was not to last. There had been an explosion and then a confrontation between his true family and the one that had stolen him and he had not chosen how she thought he would. It had been like a slap in the face and she could only watch in a daze as Ryoma had clashed blades with Nohr’s then crown prince, trading blows of such ferocity that she had thought the ground might open up and consume them both. Following that encounter, (their duel had only ended only when Corrin had lead a second attack to draw his attention away) Ryoma had forbidden her from attempting to engage Xander in battle. He was too dangerous an opponent was her brother’s reasoning - in hindsight though, Hinoka thought it was because Ryoma hated losing and had wanted the chance to have another go at his rival. Despite his best attempts to hide it through his meditation, her older brother had always been competitive.

The second time was in Izumo. By some bizarre will of the Gods they had once again come face to face with the Nohrian royal family and she had watched nervously as Xander had threatened to first cut her brother’s throat and then kill him with his bare hands (on reflection, Ryoma had not behaved much better, she supposed). They had then been taken hostage by a rogue Nohrian mage but to their utter shock Xander had ordered her family set free, while his family had executed the mage for treachery. Later, at Corrin’s request, both the royal families had eaten dinner together. She remembered being deeply conflicted about Xander’s actions and she had looked across the table at him trying to get a measure of him. He had not noticed her curiosity - he was too busy silently trading death glares with her older brother.

The third time they were at the gates of Shirasagi Castle, after her failed defence of her home. Corrin had requested her surrender and retreat, and Princess Camilla had put an axe close to her throat. Somewhere at the back of their group, she saw him lingering silently, like a guardian of death.

The fourth time they were in the entrance hall of the castle and it was all over. He had stood before her as she cradled a weeping, inconsolable Sakura in her arms. In that moment, with his armour scratched and dented and his golden curls dulled with dust and mud (blood…?) he had looked twice his age. He had quietly presented her with an apology, condolences and a cloth covered Fujin Yumi. He then bowed before her and called her Queen before announcing Nohr’s immediate withdrawal from Hoshido to allow her peace to grieve. Hinoka had remembered something snapping in side her and she had screamed at him in rage - he couldn’t just destroy her life, her people and her land and then leave like nothing had happened. “If you are going to conquer us,” she had roared, “At least have the backbone to do it properly.” She had expected him to rage back at her so had been startled a little when his princely mask slipped for a moment and she caught a look in his eyes akin to grief. “Forgive me,” was all he said, voice threatening to break, before he walked away.

The fifth time, she was in Castle Krackenberg. She was officially there for his coronation but she had also gone to sign the formal peace accords and new trade deals that sealed the supposedly permanent ceasefire between their nations. This visit had been a blur, but she did recall how different he looked outside of his battle armour. He was trussed up in all the finery accorded to a to a king at his coronation and despite her best attempts, Hinoka could not help but think how magnificent he looked. As the crown was placed upon his head and he took his seat on the Midnight Throne she felt a combination of jealously and despair. Xander was clearly a man who was born to be king and she felt tiny in his presence. She was a warrior, not a ruler. How could she possibly compare to him?

Yesterday, he’d found her in the gardens and requested her help on what might have been a fool’s errand. That was meeting number six, she supposed. After she had agreed to at least hear him out he had honest to gods smiled at her and thanked her for understanding, which had taken her by surprise. He had said he would be leaving the next day, for he did not want to linger unnecessarily but Hinoka had implored him to stay an extra day or so. They had things to discuss after all she had matters to arrange.

He had agreed, and so this had led to her suggesting encounter number seven. Dinner, this evening, to discuss the practicalities of what he had wanted to do. Seven was a luckily number in Hoshido, and she prayed to whatever Gods were still listening to grant her the grace and strength to get through the night.

The dining room was set with a traditional low table surrounded by zabuton - it was familiar for her but nothing like the furniture she had seen in Castle Krakenburg. She wondered briefly if it would have polite to have a western style chair brought for him for comfort, (he was very tall after all) but then dismissed the idea. Ryoma had been of a similar to height and he had been just fine, and besides, Xander was in Hoshido - let him experience the different culture and be damned if he didn’t like it.

There were six places around the table although only three had been set. Sakura had been invited to join them, but she had doubts her younger sister would show. Yesterday, after her return from the gardens, she had sat by the same table and summoned her sister, her chief advisor Yukimura and all of their retainers and described what had transpired. Yukimura, Subaki and Azama had been incredulous that she would even entertain his notions, and even Setsuna had asked if she thought it wise to follow him, but Sakura (and by extension Hana) had remained silent. Only when the others had finished their protests did the High Princess speak, and that was only to ask her sister if she truly thought Xander’s intentions honourable.

Hinoka hadn’t been sure what had prompted her to believe him beyond his passion in his cause but she told her sister he had given his word to her and she believed him. Sakura had had countered his word meant nothing before abruptly leaving the room. When she had awoken this morning, Azama had thrust a letter into her hands - in it, her sister had pleaded apologies but she was needed in the temple, likely all day and she shouldn’t wait for her during the day’s courtly duties.

The letter had made her sad. She hadn’t meant to alienate her sister but she could understand her feelings - Sakura still awoke crying from her sleep sometimes over what had happened in Fort Jinya. She pondered the best ways to make amends with her before being interrupted from her train of thoughts by a maid, who proclaimed the entry of the King of Nohr to the room. She tried not to roll her eyes as her own titles were reeled off before Xander was permitted to sit:

“You grace the company of Hinoka, the first Queen of Hoshido to bear her name. Daughter of King Sumeragi, The Lady of the Dawn and the Light of the East. Bask in her radiance as you enjoy your meal this evening.”

Xander nodded his head at Hinoka as a sign of respect and kneeled down at the table. The various courses were then brought out - various sushis, sashimi and noodles along with various bottles of Awamori, Sake, and Shochu. A maid selected various things from the plate for him and set them down before him and poured him several generous glasses of assorted drinks before Hinoka dismissed the servants from the room. They were alone to start their meal.

Neither of them spoke at first - she had so many things she wanted to ask him or elaborate on but she ended up blurting out something that had been bothering her since he’d first mentioned it. “Did you really dismiss the feudal lords after I left yesterday?”

“Yes,” countered Xander in a tone of voice that made it sound like he went to foreign courts everyday to discipline errant nobles.

“And did as you said?”

“They did,” said Xander.

“Oh.” That feeling of inadequacy that she had felt at his coronation had returned.

He looked her straight in the eye. “Is something troubling you, Queen Hinoka?”

“No,” she said, almost too quickly. Xander nearly always had a stern expression on his face, but in that moment it softened and he raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, yes. I’m sorry for the way they treated you. It is not honourable for them to speak to a guest who has travelled so far with such distain. We are at peace now, there is no excuse.” Then she added, “I would also apologise for my own behaviour, it was most unbecoming for a queen. Rest assured, I will be making amends with them.”

Xander hummed in what she could only peg as amusement before replying, “You have nothing to apologise for, Queen Hinoka. Not on my account anyway.” He paused. “If I may be so bold to offer some advice… in my opinion, you do not need to seek amends with your lords either.”

Hinoka didn’t say anything but she frowned, Xander took it as a cue to expand on his thoughts. “You are their Queen, and they behaved very badly in front of you. Do you believe that had your Lord Brother or even Lord Father been in your place, the nobles would have spoken out as they did and would they have expected an apology from them if they’d been admonished?”

“…No,” answered Hinoka honestly. If she were honest, Ryoma would have probably thrown them out of the castle there and then if they had.

“You are doing a fine job in difficult circumstances, Queen Hinoka.”

She suddenly felt defensive. “Thank you, but it’s more complicated than that, King Xander.”

“Oh?” he replied and then cleared his throat. “I have to admit, I am quite unfamiliar with Hoshidan etiquette. I am missing something?”

“Well, it’s just that… you see…” Hinoka searched for the right words. She did not want to appear weak in front of him, but he’d already seen what he had seen and she could not take it back. She doubted there was much she could say that would put her in a worst position than the one she currently felt she was in, so why not be honest? “No one ever expected me to become Queen. Ryoma was groomed since the minute he was born to ascend the throne and Takumi had lessons on ruling too as the second true-born son, in case something happened to Ryoma. I was just expected to become a shrine maiden and serve the crown until I married into a noble house and had some heirs.” Now that she had said it aloud, it amazed her how much the idea could still make her feel physically ill. Xander said nothing but he was looking at her with his full attention, so she continued.

“But then Corrin was taken and war broke out, so I took the path of the warrior, which is considered unusual for a woman in my standing.”

“Is it?” said Xander, sound surprised. “I had noticed a fair number of women serving on the Hoshidan front lines.”

“It is unusual for the High Princess. Many of the feudal lords thought it improper of me and they were not kind. As I said, I was expected to go to the temple, and follow that up with marriage and children.” She sighed. “Instead, both of my brothers fell in battle and Hoshido had to make do with a half-baked Queen.”

Xander looked like he wanted to interrupt but Hinoka continued. “I didn’t even have a lesson in politics until my brothers passed. Queens have ruled Hoshido before, but our laws give primary succession to men. My father, King Sumeragi, doesn’t have any living true-born sons any more so it falls to me now. But there are various uncles and aunts in my families who still have male heirs alive, and there are some rumours in court that the more disgruntled feudal lords consider a claim from one of my distant male cousins more worthy than my own. The war left my family with very little, so if they wanted to force a marriage or something worse… I don’t know where my support would come from. We’ve already lost so much… as much as I would want to beat them all to a bloody pulp at times, I have to think of Sakura too. I can not afford to offend them.”

Xander, regarded her silently, before before picking up his drink and then taking a sip. He shuddered ( _it must have been the strong Awamori_ , she mused to herself), then spoke. “My point of view still stands,” he said quietly. “Queen Hinoka, you _are_ doing a fine job and you _must_ start believing that. Do you know what the people of Nohr have to say about the Queen in the East after you came to my coronation?”

Hinoka snorted. “Do they not have anything better to talk about?”

Ignoring her scepticism he continued, “Strength is highly thought of in my home land and you have that in abundance. They look at what you have lost but also what you have now. They admire your courage, resilience and your ability to press forward. To rebuild. To stand tall where a person of lesser qualities would have crumbled to dust. I am sure there are many in Hoshido who would support your claim too - you are still on throne after all, and if your position was as weak as you seem to think it is, we would not be eating dinner together now.” He paused, like he was measuring his next sentence very carefully. “You are the Light of the East, Queen Hinoka. Do not let them dim you.”

For the second time in as many days, he had rendered her speechless and she had to swallow hard before she found the voice to change the subject away from her towards something else. “We have a lot to talk about King Xander. We should get on with out discussions. What exactly do you plan to actually do at the Bottomless Canyon anyway?”

She listened intently as he explained his plans. If he was disappointed she did not gush over his compliment, he did not show it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my continued ramblings... it was hard to get this one right, so I hope you enjoyed it (or a little, at least). I know where I want to go, just got to draw a few more details on the map first and I hope you'll stick around :) 
> 
> I hope it doesn't feel too cut off, but I plan to reveal more about what they further discussed at dinner in the next chapter, and hopefully introduce some more characters and further some further plot. There is not a lot of shippyness at the moment, but I figure they have some issues to work out first ;)
> 
> Also: TIL 4 is considered an unlucky number in Japan as the word for 4 sounds like the word for death.
> 
> Edit 22/10/17 - Fixed a few typos and missing words. It's amazing how you read and re-read and still miss little things!


	3. A Different View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinoka says what we are all thinking, and Xander waxes lyrical about the situation back at home.

Xander was not a talented man, not in his opinion. As a child and teen, he enjoyed, and was very good at painting and drawing, but such things were not considered notable talents for a prince in a warrior nation such as Nohr. He had been clumsy with a blade and hated hand-to-hand fighting, but it was those arts that he had been told he had to excel at by his tutors and so he had developed a near obsession with practice and improving himself.

Every day, he had a set routine - time on the training mats practicing kicks, throws and punches. Then time swinging and moving and sparring with a sword. Then riding on horse back. Then at the end of those drills combing all of those things so they were cohesive. Again and again and again, until he deemed himself passable at the skill and then perfect. It was never perfect though, but a least he would not embarrass himself, or at least he hoped so.

It was this mindset that had lead him to summon Kaze to his quarters before his trip to Hoshido, and he had asked the ninja to tell him everything about etiquette in the East, for fear of being embarrassed. If Kaze had found it uncomfortable talking about the home land he had abandoned, he hadn’t shown it and had dutifully run through all the nuances of fine dining in Hoshido. The thing that had worried Xander the most was using chopsticks, and after Kaze had finished his instruction, he had added practice with chopsticks in to his rigorous training regime… at least until he had returned from his trip to Hoshido.

He was grateful for Kaze’s advice, he thought, as he sat opposite Hoshido’s reluctant queen. He hoped he appeared competent and that was something he needed her to believe if she were to ever take what he needed to tell her seriously.

After he had finished recounting his version of the final invasion of Hoshido and how and why they now wanted to investigate the area where Corrin’s had been sent on his very first mission, her amber eyes looked at him hard and unblinking and without a word. Silently, she had taken her bowl and expertly used her own chopsticks to gulp down her noodles. Still holding the bowl close to her face, she licked her lips and didn’t take her eyes off him.

“So,” she said, finally breaking the silence. “What you’re saying is that King Garon was literally a monster and he tried to kill you?”

“That is correct,” said Xander.

“Huh,” said Hinoka. “And what you’re also saying is that after he was defeated, you were confronted by Takumi.”

“That is also correct,” Xander replied.

Hinoka put the bowl down. “And you expect me to believe that… _nonsense_?”

Xander suddenly felt something that he had not felt for years - the sensation of feeling tiny, of being cornered by his instructors when he had tried to sneak off to play with Krackenberg’s kitchen cats, or when he had tried to avoid yet another disastrous lesson with the blade. He paused and gathered himself and, and then said, “Yes.”

Hinoka inhaled heavily through her nose, and her eyes flicked up to ceiling. She then sighed. “Everything you have just said sounds ridiculous.”

“I know it is difficult to believe Queen Hinoka but I implore you…”

She raised a hand to cut him off. She chewed her bottom lip and then said, “It **is** ridiculous, King Xander. Surely you can’t deny it. Have you listened to yourself?”

Xander was tempted in that moment to tell her that he had constantly replayed the events in his head and they made less and less sense each time on reflection. He was also tempted to mention that he had spent the whole of his journey here planning and practicing how he was going to tell her, and that his greatest fear was that she was going to laugh him out of Shirasagi. Now, it seemed like that was actually going to happen.

“It is ridiculous,” she repeated, not waiting for an answer. “But.” She paused, and then repeated quietly, “But.”

“How much do you know about Hoshidan funeral customs, King Xander?” she said, suddenly and boldly.

He was taken off guard by the question, and then mentally cursed himself for not reading about this particular aspect of Hoshidan culture, or quizzing Kaze about it. A small voice in the back of his head murmured that it’s not something he should have expected to come up, but it was drowned by a harder one that told him that Hoshido had two dead princes. Of course it was going to come up, and he had been a fool not to think of it. “I apologise, Queen Hinoka. I do not.”

“Well,” said Hinoka. “One of the most important aspects is when we wash and dress the body before the formal ceremony. Tradition dictates that it is done by close family members, so Sakura and I helped to prepare Ryoma before his ceremony. Azama would not let us prepare Takumi.”

He didn’t know what to say. It seemed almost barbaric to him and his thoughts snapped to Elise and what she would do if she was ever faced with dressing his body. He didn’t want to linger on the thought and came back to the present. “I beg your pardon, Queen Hinoka, but why not?”

“Because he looked like he fell from a great height.” She had almost whispered the line and then she leaned forward. “You know what happened. You know how tall the great wall is and you saw Takumi jump off it, pretty much at its highest part. There is no way, in the name of any Gods that still exist, that he could have survived that fall.

“If he could not survive the fall, he could not have come back to Shirasagi. The Core Legion was largely slaughtered, Oboro was dead and Hinata wasn't…” she trailed off. “Nobody was able to bring him back. Takumi died at Suzanoh, and that is where we should have found him, yet his body was found in the throne room here in Shirasagi. It made no sense to us. And it continues to make no sense… unless something of what you say might be true.”

A wave of relief swept over Xander. “So you will permit us to use the fort near the bridge crossing to investigate the canyon and supply some troops to help with the effort?”

Hinoka regarded him coolly. “Hoshido is still recovering from the invasion and can’t spare you any troops or resources for your…. trip. But as a gesture of good will, and in the name of justice for my brothers I grant you permission to investigate, and will let you use that old fort by the border as a base.”

“Thank you for your generosity,” said Xander.

Hinoka didn’t say anything but she did look at him long and hard. “You know by doing this I am likely putting myself at odds with a good majority of my court. So, don’t try anything… funny... and do not abuse my good faith.”

They were disturbed then by a tapping at the hall doors and Xander turned to see a handmaid tip toe in and move quickly and lightly towards the queen. When she reached Hinoka, she leaned down to whisper something in her ear; whilst she was doing so Hinoka had not taken her eyes off him. After the maid and finished speaking, she bowed deeply before the Queen gave her a nod and Hinoka waited until she had taken a step back had gone before speaking again.

“Were you expecting correspondence while you were here?”

Xander frowned and his eyes narrowed in confusion, but before he could comment further Hinoka elaborated: “A wyvern rider has arrived carrying a parchment with an oak tree seal and explicit instructions to have this letter delivered to you personally.”

Xander recognised from her description the letter must come from Leo and the thought had him worried. He had left Nohr’s court in his youngest brother’s more than capable hands and he had not thought that his trip to Hoshido would have him away from Windmire for long… the fact that Leo had felt it necessary to contact him concerned him.

He cleared his throat and went to stand. “My apologies for the intrusion, Queen Hinoka. It seems the letter bears my youngest brother’s personal seal. Where is the letter?”

The maid handed something to Hinoka and she waved it at him. She then gave it back to the maid and she dutifully brought it around so Xander could read it. He cracked the wax, and scanned the letter, his heart sinking a little but did his best not to show his emotions in front of the queen.

“It seems our dinner needs to be cut short, Queen Hinoka. I apologise, but I need reply to this at once and send the rider on their way.” He looked up at her and softly smirked. “It appears my court can be be just as troublesome as yours.”

As short laugh escaped Hinoka then she quickly cleared her throat and appeared serious once again. “No bother, King Xander. I understand your need to leave - I think we are done here for the most part any way, there is not much left for us to eat,” she replied her voice even. “I hope the food was to your taste.”

Xander stood and bowed. “The food was delicious, Queen Hinoka, thank you for your time and conversation. If you would permit me to leave before you... I would be most grateful.”

“The pleasure was mine, King Xander. Permission granted.”

***

When he arrived back at Shirasagi’s guest suite, Xander took another long, hard look at the letter, reading the words scribbled in Leo’s messy scrawl over and over again.

_Xander,_

_Corrin admitted today that when he visited the area in question with Azura they also recovered Sir Gunther from it, and he said he withheld the information because she asked him too. When I summoned Sir Gunther for further questioning on this, I was informed he had disappeared from the castle._

_Leo_

Xander sighed heavily and found a seat - he would have liked nothing more than the comfort of his reading chair at that the moment but had the make the best of the low lying furniture. He rubbed his forehead, as if trying to dispell an ache - Nohr had indeed won the war, but the situation at home was nothing short of a mess.

Methodically, he tried to work through the issues he was facing now he had ascended the throne. The country he had inherited had massive, massive problems. A good portion of the provinces were hungry or starving, and those that weren’t wanted out. He had granted autonomy to some regions at his coronation, and discussed further devolution for some of the more troublesome areas with Leo, but that policy had not been popular with the noble families in the bordering regions and still required some ironing out.

There was also the issue regarding his father, and the ramifications of his death. When he was Crown Prince, he had carried a rather fearsome reputation within it’s army (and if he was honest… he still had one) but the small folk were fond of him, and lesser nobility supported him. His ascension to the throne had had a largely popular reception… except for the some of the more ancient and influential families that Garon had kept close to him - they were the few lingering snakes that whispered how strange it was that at the moment of Garon’s greatest victory, he had fallen upon a Hoshidan sword. A purge at court was among one of his highest priorities but he had to be careful not to upset those families… and also those that still had remote links to Camilla, Leo and Elise.

His train of thought then moved on the issue that had caused him to make the journey to Hoshido in the first place. The effect the war had had on his family, and the loss of King Garon could not have been underplayed if he had tried and even now there were consequences and ramifications bubbling to the surface.

Camilla was now largely out of the picture - she had retreated completely from royal life, wanting as she said, to live simply, and to have a lot of children. He couldn’t blame her after everything that happened, and to say her childhood was difficult was an understatement - if she had the option to put it behind her… they why wouldn’t she? She was now living in an area close to Cheve, and already had a gaggle of orphans to dote on and he was happy for her, but he did miss her council, which was lighter than Leo’s but no less important. Before her departure she had pointed out a rather major problem that could not and should not escape his attention: that of Corrin.

Corrin had taken the fall of Hoshido hard, especially the deaths of Prince Takumi and Prince Ryoma. On top of that, following the final defeat of whatever ghoul had taken Prince Takumi, Azura too had disappeared and Corrin had been devastated as the two had become close during the war. She had been his biggest cheerleader and advisors at their war councils but without her, he now seemed lost and so very small.

Xander tried his best to be understanding in regards to Corrin's misery. But the pressures of ruling had meant that that patience had to be put on the back burner as he now had more important issues to look into, and he found himself growing increasingly frustrated with him.

He supposed the tipping point stemmed from the day he had been crowned. Hinoka had been present, truly radiant in her new majesty, and had invited Corrin to Shirasagi. Corrin had been thrilled, and expressed excitement that he could now enjoy the company of both of his families… but reality had ensued a fortnight later. A extremely apologetic letter bearing Queen Hinoka’s personal seal arrived saying that any casual visit from him had to be put on indefinite hold due to concerns raised by what remained of the Feudal Lords… and Princess Sakura. This had stung Corrin deeply, and he had taken to lamenting around Krackenberg’s apartments and one evening while moping, he had let slip to Leo and himself about a mysterious land he had visited with Azura in the middle of the war.

Xander was well versed in the history, geography and borders of the surrounding nations and territories of Nohr, and nothing Corrin had described meant anything to him - or Leo for that matter. The mystery only deepened upon pressing Corrin, who had also admitted that Azura had asked him not to reveal details of their visit. Azura had always been quiet and somewhat aloof, but her insistent secrecy had peaked their interest and when Xander had prodded some more only to find that Corrin was naively unaware on many key details “because Azura had said…” he had grown somewhat frustrated. While he had managed to keep his temper in check, Leo had been incredulous.

Mostly that Corrin had not thought to mention any of this before the invasion, and that they had let it go as far as it had. But Leo had truly lost his temper when Corrin began every sentence with ‘But Azura said…’ and Xander had had to separate them.  Xander had then decided they needed to research his mysterious and hidden land, and Leo had gladly accepted before leaving - they needed to know what secrets was it hiding and why was it hidden?

 Leo had researched intensely for about a week, avoiding his family, taking his all of his meals in the royal library and pointedly ignoring Corrin. But he had eventually emerged with a very old book, one that he had found in the darkest recesses of the most ancient shelves. The cover was a faded blue but without script or label on it, and the pages were dusty and threatening to break but inside that book among the writings was a very old map.

It was a map that showed three kingdoms - Nohr to the West, Hoshido to the East and then in the middle expanding to the south - a third kingdom. It had struck him as odd when he first saw it and he almost didn’t believe it - he did not recognise the lands and borders shown on the map, and to deepen the mystery further, nothing on it was labelled on the third kingdom save a very faded single point named ‘Gyges’.

It wasn’t much to go on, but Leo had also pointed out that that some of the texts were poorly written - it was like huge chunks of writing were missing or concealed, or words had been taken out. It was worth investigating and after some careful cartography, they had pieced together than a large swathe of the kingdom should be where the Bottomless Canyon now was.

Xander mused that perhaps spending so much time on this was unwise when there were so many other issues that needed his attention. But he could not shake the feeling that this conundrum would help to solve them, and the fact that Queen Hinoka had granted them permission to use the fort they wanted had given him a little hope that they might be able to get somewhere.

After leaving dinner, he had sent the wyvern rider back almost immediately with a message to tell his brothers to meet him at the canyon. Tomorrow he would ride away from Shirasagi and start looking for answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to give Leo messy handwriting as a lot of very smart people I know have bad handwriting and I thought it would be a good contrast to Xander. 
> 
> There are a couple of things I’ve taken liberty with here, for example in this story Takumi’s body did not disappear after he was defeated.
> 
>  
> 
> This was hard :C Still not entirely happy with it so there might be more tweaking to be done... but I've been tweaking and rewriting for months now and just really wanted to be done with this chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't write the Haiku, I found it via google search - it was credited as Vickers Haiku, so thank you whoever you are. 
> 
> I have never done this before, so I hope it's not completely awful. This was in my head and it wouldn't go away so I thought I would give it a try. And also this pairing just needs more fic in general and I've not found one with this context before and thought it was worth exploring.


End file.
